| FRANCE, POLAND & ISRAEL DOMINATE YOUTH CHAMPIONSHIPS |
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FRANCE - 1st place
Thomas BESSIS, Christophe GROSSET, Nicolas LHUISSIER, Cedric LORENZINI, Quentin ROBERT, Frederic VOLCKER and Herve MOUIEL (npc) |
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ISRAEL - 2nd place
Eliran ARGELAZI, Eran ASSARAF, Alon BIRMAN, Dror PADON, Ron SCHWARTZ, Bar TARNOVSKI, Gilad OFIR (npc) |
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NORWAY - 3rd place
Erik BERG, Haakon BOGEN, Lars Arthur JOHANSEN, Espen LINDQVIST, Steffen Fredrik SIMONSEN, Erlend SKJETNE, Lars EIDE (npc) and Gjermund REKSTAD (coach) |
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France, Poland and Israel dominated the 22nd edition of the European Youth Team Championships, held in Poiana Brasov, a wonderful ski resort on Romania's Carpathian mountains, 8-18 July 2009. These countries won 7 out of the 9 available medals in the three series for national teams comprising players aged Under-26 years (formerly Juniors), Under-21 years (formerly Schools) and Girls (under 26 years). The remaining two medals were won by Norway and The Netherlands.
France was the clear winner of the Championships. They won the U-26 series, contested by 23 nations, and captured the prestigious David Pigot Trophy for the first time since 1988. France came second in their first ever appearance in the Girls series and took bronze medal in the U-21 series. Poland was another distinguished winner. They caught two gold medals, winning both the U-21 and Girls series. Amazingly enough, this was a repetition of Poland's success in Jesolo '07, when again Poland had won both these series! Finally, Israel made an impressive appearance too, winning silver medals in the U-26 and U-21 series. Norway won the bronze medal in the U-26 series, while The Netherlands came third in the Girls.
In the U-26 series, Norway took an early lead when the championship went underway, and they retained it until the 6th round. France went ahead after round 7. From that point, they were continuously chased by Norway and other strong contenders, like Israel, The Netherlands, Italy, Germany, etc. However, the French managed to stay at the top of the classification for the rest of the competition, without losing the lead at any single moment. At the end, they were clear winners, 9 VPs ahead of runners-up Israel and 13 VPs from third-placed Norway. These three countries, together with The Netherlands (4th), Italy (5th) and Germany (6th) earned the right to represent Europe at the 2010 World Youth Team Championships. |
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POLAND - 1st place
Pawel JASSEM Mateusz MROCZKOWSKI Slawomir NIAJKO Adam SMIESZKOL Piotr TUCZYNSKI Jakub WOJCIESZEK and Wlodzimierz KRYSZTOFCZYK (npc) |
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ISRAEL - 2nd place
Adi ASULIN, Lotan FISHER, Gal GERSTNER, Alon LAZAR, Hila LEVY, Moshe MEYUCHAS and Zohar BERG (npc) |
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FRANCE - 3rd place
Fabrice CHARIGNON, Pierre COTREAU, Thibault COUDERT, Edouard DU CORAIL, Gregoire LAFONT, Clement THIZY, Veronique BESSIS (npc) and Michel BESSIS (coach) |
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In the U-21 series, contested by 14 European nations, the gold medal soon became an affair between Poland and Israel, as these two teams built up a more than comfortable lead from the other contestants early on. However, they remained very close to each other and alternated several times in the top position. With one round to go, Israel was leading by just 1 VP, but their 21-9 victory over Hungary on the last round was not enough! Poland blitzed the Czech Republic 25-1 to win the series with a total of 278 VPs, against Israel's 275 VPs. Well behind, France won the bronze medal with 208 VPs. Again, the medallists will be joined by Norway (205 VPs), Sweden (200 VPs) and Germany (199 VPs), to represent Europe in the corresponding series of the 2010 World Youth Team Championships. |
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POLAND - 1st place
Ewa Agnieszka GRABOWSKA, Magdalena HOLEKSA, Paulina JATCZAK, Natalia SAKOWSKA, Katarzyna TYSZKIEWICZ, Izabela WEINHOLD, Miroslaw CICHOCKI (npc) and Leszek NOWAK (coach) |
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FRANCE - 2nd place
Marion CANONNE, Jessie CARBONNEAUX, Claire CHAUGNY, Carole PUILLET, Lea ROBERT, Aurelie THIZY and Jerome ROMBAUT (npc) |
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NETHERLANDS - 3rd place
Rosaline BARENDREGT, Laura DEKKERS, Lotte LEUFKENS, Judith NAB, Jamilla SPANGENBERG, Sigrid SPANGENBERG, Alex van REENEN (npc) and Hans KELDER (coach) |
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In the Girls series, Poland became the first country to win this title twice. After Austria (winners in the inaugural event in 2004), and The Netherlands (winners in 2005). Poland won the title in 2007, and succeeded in retaining it this year.
Fourteen nations - more than ever before - competed this year, but the 2009 title was in doubt until the very end of the series. After the penultimate round, France was leading the race with 231 VPs, to Poland’s 225. They were followed by The Netherlands (207), Denmark (206) while Sweden was fifth at a distance (194). The situation was even more dramatic because France had to play Poland in the last round. France needed at least 13 points to secure their lead, while Poland was fighting for an 18-12 victory that would allow them to win the title on a split tie. At the end, the score was 20-10 for Poland, who thus became the first European nation to win the European Girls title twice. The Netherlands drew with Turkey, but remained third despite Sweden’s blitz over the host country which brought them within a small margin from the bronze medal.
   
The 22nd European Youth Team Championships was the first European event to be organized in Romania. The effort was undoubtedly a success. Hotel Piatra Mare, was not only the highest venue ever (altitude 1,200m), but also one of the friendliest. The Romanian Federation, spearheaded by its energetic Secretary Marius Georgescu, produced an organization of high quality and met the needs of the young participants. All visitors had the opportunity to enjoy the natural beauty of the Carpathian mountains and take a taste of its wealth of monuments (castles, palaces and churches). All in all, the first ever event in Romania paved the way for another event in this attractive country soon! |
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